France asks ITU to take Iranian action

November 12, 2012

France’s telecommunications agency is formally asking the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to take action on persistent satellite jamming by Iran. France’s National Agency of Frequency Regulation (ANFR) says it is “extremely concerned” about Iranian jamming, and reports suggest that discussions between France and other national bodies are discussing sanctions against Iran.

In other news Iran says it wants to launch its own satellite. A statement from Ezzatollah Zarghami, reported by BBC Monitoring, said that next year’s Iranian presidential elections would include “popular” programming to cover the debates which would be broadcast by satellite. He also said plans were underway for Iran to launch its own satellite.

This might be something of a challenge given that various bodies including the United Nations and with US and EU prohibitions in place to limit what Iran can – and cannot – do in terms of space technology. For example, Ezzatollah Zarghami is himself a proscribed individual as far as US regulators are concerned.

There are also US regulations in force covering the building, supply of parts and even the launching of satellites by nations such as Iran. The US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) includes satellites, while the US Departments of Defense and State have similar rules in force.

An Iranian minister, Reza Taqipour, is reportedly suggesting to member states of the Economic Cooperation Organisation, which was meeting in Tehran, that Iran and the ECO should jointly develop a satellite for telecommunications purposes.

Nevertheless, Iran’s main overseas mouthpiece, Press TV, continues with a near-daily slew of stories and video reports arguing that it has been unfairly “silenced” by Eutelsat (and others).